From Skyler on Amazon.com:

“I highly recommend this book if you have middle school age girls interested in STEM. It’s beautifully illustrated as well as diverse… 10/10 read.”

From Publisher’s Weekly:

In this graphic novel debut from 12-year-old Lucy Lareau and her mother, protagonist Lucy and her confident older sister, Marina, have just moved to Normal, Ill. Lucy has some new-school jitters, but she immediately makes friends at Earhart Elementary with fellow fourth graders Sofia, a glitter-obsessed computer coder; A.J., who loves to build things; and Zara, a singer and math enthusiast. Comics artist Jampole illustrates the story with upbeat graphics that emphasize each character’s distinctive traits, while the Lareaus cheerfully detail how the capable friends bond over their “geek” pride while raising funds to design and build a new school playground.

Themes of female empowerment resonate throughout the episodic chapters, though the dialogue can be didactic: Marina offhandedly informs her mother, “Yeah, girls are coding now. They design games, and solve all kinds of problems…. Just a heads-up, NASA is training women astronauts right now for Mars!” The Geeky Fab 5 might take a cue from the more authentically portrayed Lumberjanes, but fans will look forward to seeing what the protagonists get up to next.

Ages 7–11.

From Christine, a reviewer on goodreads.com:

“After finishing this book, I turned to my brother who teaches science and told him to get a copy. Do I need to say anything else?

Really?

Okay, this book is about five girls who become friends because they are all a bit geeky, smart, and most seem to want to go into STEM fields. I say most because Lucy is unsure, but it is made clear that being unsure is okay. They are not just science nerds. They have other interests as well (such as fashion and singing), and they know history. They go to a school named after Amelia Earhart after all.

The group is diverse, as anyone can see from the cover, and last names included Martinez and Kumar. One girl is even adopted. While parents are very much in the background, suggests are made about the parents – A.J.’s father, for instance, works in robotics. While none of the girls is physically disabled, family members are.

The plot of the story centers around fixing the school’s playground as well as dealing with stupid boys who believe girls can’t be coders. The playground plot is interesting because one of the girls, Lucy, blames herself for it being closed to students. Her friends refuse to buy into that train of thought and are supportive of her.

There is also a cat called Hubble. He talks like a cat. There is also a bit end that gives more information about the famous women mentioned in the book. Additionally, at a time where women who either act or like Star Wars are being targeted by “fanboys”, it is nice to read a book where the girls like Star Wars.

Highly recommended. ”

From Rachel McKitterick on goodreads.com:

4 stars.

I bumped this up to 4 stars from 3 because I really found the positive female image that was expressed to be exactly what is needed for growing girls. It was a very enjoyable graphic novel. It was run to read and wonderful to look at. The illustrations were just right and it all seemed to fall into place.

I’d have to say that the character I liked the most was Zara. Her whole ‘No negative self talk’ is what won me over. I can definitely see this as a series that will be rather popular mainly for girls but also for boys too.

The characters are mixed ages but mostly rather young. They are strong smart and intelligent and they are also themselves. Each character has something that makes them special which is another reason why i liked this. You dont have to be a certain somebody for others to like you. Plus there is a talking Cat!! (Although the others can’t exactly hear him) Need I say more?!

The story is mainly about kids who have just started up going back to school again and discover pretty soon that the playground has been closed down and is off limits. This brings me back to my own childhood as while I was in primary school, this had happened at my school aswell. It made lunch time and recess go rather slowly and we all found it hard to pass the time.

Luckily for me, my school had already started the process of building a new playground and omg was it epic! So worth the wait. Unfortunately for these kids, they had to start from square one. Coming up with an idea and raising the money.

I won’t go into the rest but I can say im looking forward to reading the next book.

Definatley recommended.